Jinan Palace.

"What do you say? Wu Tianxi's 20,000 horses in Wei City have arrived in Ande and Pingma City, which is fucking aimed at this mansion. My Licheng town is on the opposite side of the river of his Wu Tianxi's army, plus Wu Yunzhao 30,000 horses transferred from Luzhou, and 10,000 elite soldiers originally stationed in Liyang City, more than 60,000 soldiers and horses have come to my side, this is sincere not to let this government have a good time! I don't think he wants to build a ditch, but uses the ditch to cut down a certain family's domain! Tang Bi was so angry that his triangular eyes widened, and he turned in a circle in front of the table in Shuaifu.

"Fujun, don't hesitate any longer, put up a flag to recruit troops!" Gao Keren, the general judge sitting at the bottom of the stairs, shouted.

"If you recruit 10,000 people, it's easy to say, and you can do it quietly. But 10,000 is far from enough. If the action is big, the Sui Ting Military Department should come to ask about it, it is a crime of expanding the army without permission and gathering troops to rebel, you and I can't bear it! ”

"Fu Jun, now there is still a lot to take care of. There are now dozens of patriarchs of families gathered outside the gate, these people are because Jizhou excavated the Yongji Canal and lost the land and fled to here, and there are many heirs of these scholars in our army, and there are also many people in high positions. If the prince does not make decisions for them, it will inevitably provoke a mutiny in our army. Besides, chaos is imminent, and if the prince is not strong, he will inevitably be eaten by the stronger. What does it mean that the king of Jin first received Donglai Wang Bo? The prince should think clearly, don't be mistaken. Gao Keren tried his best to persuade. Among the families who fled outside was his Gao family, and even the ancestral hall of his Gao family had been razed to the ground, and there was even a big brother of his own family who was directly killed in front of the Yamen of Hejian Mansion.

"Mr. Gao, what should the government do? Expanding the army without reason is a capital offense! Tang Bi said helplessly.

"The prince can follow the example of Wang Shichong of Luoyang, first expand the army by 10,000, and then enrich the treasury ordnance, especially the armor after the expansion of the army, whether it is Khitan, Xi, Goryeo, especially the clothes and armor of Li Yuan who is sent to the door, all the original skins of the clothes and armor are eaten, if the food in the treasury is not enough, then issue a document to borrow him first, with the relationship between the prince and the Tang Duke, this is a trivial matter!"

"Well, let's do as Mr. says." Tang Bi finally decided under heavy pressure to first enrich the military resources of the government treasury and expand the army by 10,000, anyway, Jinan Mansion has a large population, and it is not difficult for the camera to recruit tens of thousands.

The Prince's Mansion in the capital.

In the past few days, Yang Yong was at a loss for several copies of the recitals that had been forwarded by the Ministry of War to the hands of Yang Yong, the prince of Dao, and Yang Su, Su Wei, Han Hong and Yu Wenkai were being summoned to discuss.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's take a look! This is the request for the expansion of the army to maintain the stability of the feudal towns received in the past few days, and the prince can report it to his father after discussing a result. Prince Yang Yong looked at several important ministers sitting in a circle and said.

"From the point of view of the following officials, since His Royal Highness has opened the door for the opening of the canal for the King of Jin, the purpose is to see him fight with the various gate valves to wear down his own strength. Now, the king of Jin is powerful and the gate lords are weak, so it is better to push the boat down the river to agree to the invitation of the gate lords of the feudal towns to expand their troops. Yu Wenkai, who belonged to the Shaozhuang faction, said first.

"No, you can't. The expansion of the feudal town is extremely sensitive and touches His Majesty's bottom line. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is now being favored, and he should try to have the same understanding as His Majesty, so as not to annoy His Majesty. Su Wei hurriedly said to stop him.

"Huh! His Royal Highness the Prince, Princesses. The old man thought that he should suppress these recitals and not report them, but it happened that His Majesty was not in good health recently. Think about it, whether it is the king of Jin or the feudal town, it will not be good for us. On the contrary, the old man wants to see them fight each other, no matter who loses in the end, it has nothing to do with me, which is also beneficial to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the future. Of course, the biggest benefit is that it can weaken the strength of King Jin. ”

"Uncle's intention is to let Prince Ben sit and watch the river mussels fight?"

"Exactly. In fact, those few feudal towns are only here to go through the motions, whether the court is allowed or not, he is also going to expand the army, if you go with him, I will only wait for the good show to be staged. Yang Su said with a wicked smile on his face, and everyone nodded yes when they heard it.

"That's it! This matter is according to the uncle's wishes, and these recitals will be suppressed for the time being. However, the day before yesterday, my uncle talked about provoking Jizhou and other noble families to fight against the King of Jin, and the prince felt that he ----, "Yang Yong still has the heart to dig the Yongji Canal smoothly with his younger brother, but it is not good to mention it to Yang Su and others."

"His Royal Highness the Prince, according to the current situation, where do you need us to provoke him, there has already been news that the Hejian Mansion has thorned Shi Yu culture and imposed tyranny on the place where the river canal is going to pass, but if there is resistance, he will send troops to kill, which one of the noble families does not have an enmity with him, and the brutality of the Jin army is only seen! Hehe! It won't be long before wars will break out in Jizhou, Shandong, Luoyang and other places. Yang Su said to Yang Yong with a smile, looking like he had nothing to do with himself.

Unlike everyone in the audience, Yang Yong did not show a trace of a smile after listening to Yang Su's words, but was a little worried.

At the same time, the construction of the Yongji Canal between Liyang City and Wei City has begun. With the cooperation of a large number of explosives, the progress of the excavation project is still very fast, because of the excavation experience of the Guangtong Canal, at this time, the pulley conveyor mechanism is widely used, and the excavated earthwork is quickly transported away by the people in the high place through the pulley device. Hundreds of thousands of people started work at the same time, and the scene was particularly spectacular, and as the excavation progressed, more and more people joined.

"It's still Grandpa Mao who is right, people will win the sky, and there is great power in numbers! It's a spectacular scene. Yang Er and Ma Shumou were standing in a hanging basket with a 15-meter altitude hot air balloon at this time, looking into the distance. From time to time, he heard and saw the loud sound of explosions in the distance, and he could also see the many female water delivery workers shuttling among the laborers on the lively construction site. There are not only the rough trumpets of men, but also the joyful sounds of men and women.

"Brother, the motivation of the workers below is still very high. A lot of them are families working on the construction site. The progress of this project is still good. Ma Shumou also looked at the huge work scene below and said to Yang Er.

"That's good! Originally, it was planned that the Yongji Canal would be completed in a year and a half, but now it is expected that the construction period will be shortened. I don't know what happened to Yu Wenhua and the land acquisition situation over there, but I heard that that guy can't do it with black hands, and anyone who dares to obstruct the land acquisition will be killed. Yang Er whispered to Ma Shumou, there are only two of them here, and they are not afraid of being heard by others.

"I also heard that this traitor not only killed the local tyrants of the family, but also showed no mercy to the people who had nowhere to go after being occupied. That's not good! Ma Shumou said with some concern.

"Alas! To make a big thing happen, how easy it is to say in this era! If these noble families are not wiped out, it will be us who will be sad in the future. Yang Er also said helplessly.

"By the way, it's hard to look at this way, if only I had a telescope."

"Don't look at me, I only have a pair of peasant hands, not those foreign things." Uncle Ma was angry and scolded Yang Er.

"Cut! You look like a junior high school student who is uneducated, you have to find Professor Li Chun to study it when I have time. ”

After the two of them exchanged blows on it for a while, they gave a signal to the guards below, and the men below pulled the balloon down with a thin iron chain. Yang Er opened the door of the hanging basket and walked down.

"This hot air balloon is good, just don't put it too high, it's not safe."

"Don't worry! This balloon is made of hundreds of cowhides and coated with fireproof paint, which generally does not break. Ma Shumou said with some pride, this balloon was made by him, and what he was most afraid of was that when people were still in the sky, they would suddenly catch fire and be burned. Today, Yang Er's request is to be placed higher, and usually when he and Li Chun are on it, they will never be more than 10 meters high. All instructions are done with a simple tin horn and roar.

After watching Ma Shumou and Li Chun board the balloon and take off again, Yang Er rushed back to Liyang City with the guards. He doesn't have to worry about it here, he just needs to care about the daily progress.

Back in Liyang City, a group of people had already gathered here waiting for him. Yang Er could feel the panic on the faces of some of them as he passed in front of them.

"Lord, should there be some restraint on Lord Yuwen, this is a blood book just sent by the representatives of the family, there are handprints of one hundred and ten heads of the Shi clan in the book, all of which say that Lord Yuwen carried out tyranny along the way of the Kaihe River behind the lord's back, tortured and killed innocents, and caused the displacement of the people." A Liyang official handed the blood book in his hand to Yang Er and said in his mouth.

"Alas! Such a large project will inevitably affect the interests of the noble families along the way. I think that Qin Shi Huang built a great wall in the north in order to ensure the safety of a country, and the people of the world complained, but in the end, this Great Wall can effectively prevent the southern invasion of the northern nomads and protect the interests of the people of the Central Plains. This is the same reason as this king digging a new ditch! From the current point of view, it is only the most influential on the wealthy families along the way. You, the court officials, have to persuade these clan chiefs to let them put the country first, and don't get entangled in their own selfishness, and when it is done, the king will give them some compensation. After that, Yang Er put the blood book in his hand on the table without looking at it.

"My lord, it is rumored that Tang Bi, the king of Jinan, Wang Shichong, the king of Luoyang, and Shen Faxing, the king of Shangliang, are all recruiting troops and horses, building armor, and preparing to take advantage of the civil turmoil in Jizhou to expand their territory and strength, so they must be guarded against!" Ling Jing, the head of Hejian Mansion, stepped forward and said.

"Mr. Ling, don't worry, this king has expected it and has made preparations, and he is not afraid of his rebellion. This king is also trying to become big in the chaos. Yang Er said to Ling Jing with a sneer.

"Order Luokou City Wu Bao and Wei City Wu Tianxi General to guard the city, there must be no mistake!"

Jinyang Tang State Mansion.

Just when Yang Er arranged the opening of the canal and divided the troops to strictly guard against the various feudal towns, Li Yuan of Jinyang was in a state of embarrassment, and his ministers were also at a loss.

"Sichang, the furs purchased in my Jinyang warehouse have been nearly cleared, why don't you see the grain convoy returning? Why? Li Yuan hurriedly asked Chai Shao.

"Uncle Yue, a while ago, I Jinyang bribed Master Hu and Tang Bi's confidant Gao Keren with a lot of money in Luoyang Wang Shichong's staff, and both achieved the expected results, and all the millions of furs I shipped to these two places were eaten by him. According to Shen Yuan's reply, the grain from Luoyang and Jinan has been loaded and transported back to Jinyang. Chai Shao replied in a panic.

"Didn't you say that Shan Xiongxin has already sent down the green forest arrow, and allowed me to pass the Jinyang grain team? Why did you intercept my multi-way grain caravan for no reason? Isn't it Shan Xiongxin who wants to lose his trust in his father? Li Yuan scolded angrily.

"Oops! Tang Gong, that Shan Xiongxin is quite righteous, since it is said that the green forest arrow has been issued, there is no doubt about it, but this green forest arrow can command the heroes of the green forest righteous path, how can it command the green forest evil way of stealing chickens and dogs. Besides, it is very likely that these Xiangma bandits who participated in the looting of our grain carts were pretended to be the officials and soldiers of Luoyang and Jinan. Think about it, how do those small bandits know the grain route of my caravan? Tang Jian came out of class to excuse Chai Shao and said. As soon as he said this, all the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty nodded. Even Li Yuan couldn't make up his mind for a while.

"Tang Gong, now the grain trucks that have returned are less than 20%, and the grain transported back is only 2 or 300,000 stones. Now there is very little grain in the warehouse, except for the furs of my Jinyang armament. Now that winter is coming, the food crisis needs to be solved urgently! Nie Shi Dou Wei said eagerly.

"Tang Gong, my grain team in Jingxiang and Nanyang was looted by a bandit, and was seriously damaged, nearly 600,000 stone grain were all robbed, according to the director of the grain team who fled back, the leader of the robbers was Zhu Deng of Nanyang Nanshanzhai, it is said that Zhu Deng was 16 years old, and he was the son of Zhu Can, the son of Yang Xuangan, the son of Yang Su, the king of Yue. When I robbed the grain truck, Yang Xuangan was said to be on the mountain. Duke Tang can quickly write a letter to Yang Su, the king of Yue, and ask his son Yang Xuangan to return my Jinyang grain and detain people. Tang Jian stepped forward again and admonished.

"All that? A good Yang Xuangan, when his father was an official in the capital, he saw that his father treated him well, and he dared to rob his father's food. Li Yuan scolded angrily when he heard Yang Xuangan's name.

"Uncle Yue, the area around Jingxiang in Nanyang will be exchanged for about one million stone of grain this time. The son-in-law heard from a friend on the green forest road that the official road over there will pass through Nanshan Town, and the Nanshan cottage does not belong to the green forest road, because after Zhu Can died the year before last, Yang Xuangan went up the mountain as a righteous brother to assist Zhu Can's son Zhu Deng as the king, in fact, Yang Xuangan had the final say, he had recruited soldiers on the mountain for a year, and now there are nearly 10,000 soldiers. And Xiangyang Wang Xiao Mill has tried to recruit bandits on this road many times, and the two have close contacts, and it cannot be ruled out that he was ordered by Xiao Mill to intercept my grain truck. When our convoy was transporting furs south, it also passed through Nanshan, but at that time I did not see them come down the mountain to rob them, and our grain team was careless. ”

"Yes! Tang Gong, my team is planted with the "Li" flag, it is said that Yang Xuangan also knows that the team is my Jinyang, when he went to the full load of fur was easily let go, but when he came back, he went down the mountain to loot, which seems to have explained that it is the meaning of Xiao Milling, the king of Xiangyang! A minister said.

"Yes! Isn't this unclear that black eats black? A small cottage needs so much food, it must be robbed for that Xiao Mill. ”

"No wonder Xiao Mo has repeatedly urged me to deliver the goods, it turns out that I have already calculated."

"That's right! Right! ---- to the "

The ministers talked for a while, and the more they talked, the more it seemed to be true. Li Yuan almost fainted with anger after listening to everyone's discussions, hurriedly helped the table and sat down slowly. There was only breath in his mouth, and he couldn't say a word.

Seeing this, Chai Shao hurriedly stepped forward and patted Li Yuan's back gently, and said bluntly: "Uncle Yue doesn't need to worry, don't be angry." ”

After a while, Li Yuan adjusted his mood and said softly: "Then Yang Xuangan has always been assertive and ambitious, he dares to rob his father's food, and he has already made up his mind to be the enemy of his father, how can his father Yang Su's words be persuaded, and his father Yang Su does not need to believe in King Yue." The order passed, let my Jinyang grain team in the area of Nanyang Jingxiang take a detour and return, and it would be okay to walk a few more days. Ahem, ahem, ahem---"